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Spokane Conservation District seeks Cheney support to raise parcel fee to $15 to sustain programs
Summary
Spokane Conservation District presenters described programs that plant trees, restore riparian areas and deliver wildfire assessments, and requested local support ahead of a county-level request to raise rates-and-charges from $10 to $15 per parcel to maintain services and leverage grants.
Representatives from the Spokane Conservation District asked the Cheney City Council for support as the district prepares to ask the Spokane County Board of Commissioners to raise its rates-and-charges from $10 to $15 per parcel.
Cole Leroy, government affairs coordinator, and Vicky Carter, the district director, described the district's work: a tree-and-shrub sale that distributed roughly 110,000 trees this year, technical assistance from certified foresters, river restoration (e.g., Hangman Creek), wildfire assessments, environmental education in schools and a veterans' farming program. Leroy said 75% of the district's funding is grant-based and that increasing the parcel fee to $15 would equate to roughly 42 cents per month per parcel.
Presenters noted that each dollar invested is leveraged through matching grants and that the district has used stable rates as match to access approximately $4,000,000 in loan programs and other investments in conservation projects. Council thanked the presenters and asked staff to circulate information about district public-comment opportunities on May 12 and June 16.
